Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival

Ann Arbor, MI

Program 2019

  • NOVEMBER 8, Friday

Michigan Theater
 603 E Liberty St.

7:00 pm
Opening of the 26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival and announcement of the film competition winners.

Future films

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7:10 pm 
Obywatel Jones/Mr. Jones
dir. Agnieszka Holland, biography, thriller, 2019, 119 min.

Agnieszka Holland’s biopic commemorates the heroic undertaking of Gareth Jones, the Welsh journalist who broke the story of the horrific famines within the Soviet Union in the 1930s. It depicts Jones’ efforts to resist the Soviet secret service’s attempts to censor him and his travels from Moscow to Kharkov.

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9:30 pm  
Zabawa, zabawa/Playing Hard
dir. Kinga Dębska, drama, 2018, 88 min.

A 40-year-old prosecutor Dorota, a young student Magda and a distinguished surgeon, Teresa have something in common, an alcohol addiction. Little by little, their lives start spiraling out of control. In the end, each will reach the bottom, but will any manage to bounce back?

  • NOVEMBER 9, Saturday

Michigan Theater
 603 E Liberty St.

Children's program for ages 3+

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10:00 am 
Magiczna zima Muminków/Moomins and the Winter Wonderland
dir. Ira Carpelan & Jakub Wójcik, animation, 2017, 80 min. 

Moomintroll decides to stay awake this winter, contrary to his usual winter slumber routine. He wants to find out how does the world look like, when his whole family is asleep. He will discover snow and frost, and will learn a lot of new things about the wintery Moominvalley. But what he awaits the most, is Christmas.

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10:40 am
Intermission and Children’s Book Fair

11:00 am
Resumed showing of Magiczna Zima Muminków/Moomins and the Winter Wonderland

11:40 am 
Children’s Book Fair

Documentary films

Free admission

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12:30 pm
Warszawa: miasto podzielone/Warsaw: A City Divided
dir. Eric Bednarski, 70 min.

1:40 pm
Intermission

1:50 pm
Mała zagłada/A Minor Genocide
dir. Natalia Koryncka-Gruz, 72 min.

arabski sekret

3:00 pm 
Intermission

3:10 pm 
Jeszcze lecimy/Still Flying
dir. Mirosław Dembiński, 34 min.

3:45 pm 
Arabski sekret/The Arabic Secret
dir. Julia Groszek, 56 min.

Feature films

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6:00 pm
Boże Ciało/Corpus Christi
dir. Jan Komasa, drama, 2019, 118 min.

Story of a 20-year-old Daniel, who experiences a spiritual transformation in a Youth Detention Center. The crime he commits prevents him from applying to the seminary, but Daniel has no intention of giving up his dream of becoming a priest. When opportunity arises, he starts to minister a small-town parish.

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8:30 pm
Pan T./Mr. T 
dir. Marcin Krzyształowicz, comedy, drama, 2019, 104 min.

A renowned writer, Mister T. lives in a hotel for authors and makes a living by giving lessons. One day, a young countryside man with big dreams of working as a journalist moves next-door. Mr. T. becomes his mentor and teacher. The pace of the protagonist’s life quickens once the authorities begin to suspect him, and Secret Police agents start to watch every move he makes. It is hard to stay serious in this ridiculous reality.

  • NOVEMBER 10, Sunday

Michigan Theater
603 E Liberty St.

Documentary film

Free admission

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11:00 pm
Cudzoziemcy w Powstaniu Warszawskim/Foreigners in the Warsaw Uprising
dir. Małgorzata Brama, 40 min.

11:40 am
Intermission

Short films

Free admission

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11:50 pm
Badylok/Badylok, dir. Karolina Klapkowska, 11 min.
Piołun/Bitter Herb, dir. Maria Ornaf, 17 min.
Ostatni dzień lata/The Last Day of Summer, dir. Aleksandra Czenczek, 14 min.
Miasteczko/Small Town, dir. Daria Kopiec, 3 min.

12:35 pm
Intermission

12:45 am
Na strajk!/On Strike!
dir. Stanisław Horodecki, 24 min., followed by Q&A with S. Horodecki

Feature film

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3:00 pm   
Piłsudski/Pilsudski
dir. Michał Rosa, biography, history, 2019, 108 min.

It is 1901. A political prisioner Józef Piłsudski is patient of a psychiatric hospital in Russia. The Polish underground is preparing to rescue him. Uncertain years are coming, marked by revolutionary events and Piłsudski must find a way to maneuver between the conservative passivity of the Polish Socialist Party and the chance for restoring an independent Poland.

5:00 pm
Closing reception (by invitation only)

Tickets

Films are not rated and are all subtitled in English.
Films represent contemporary trends in Polish cinema and do not reflect views and opinions of the organizers.
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to omit or substitute any films listed in the program.

$10 general admission
$6 seniors and students
$5 general admission – children’s program
$15 family ticket for 4 or more – children’s program 
Free admission – documentaries and short films
Free admission – for UM students with valid ID